


At Least I'll Look Good While Having a Terrible Childhood

by ThisIsNotHowIDie



Series: Enemy You Can't Live Without [6]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F slur, Neil Hargrove is His Own Warning, Original Charcarter tag barley counts, Pre-Canon, Step-siblings, deaged, mentions of child abuse, this is not step sibiling incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:29:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27622736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisIsNotHowIDie/pseuds/ThisIsNotHowIDie
Summary: Billy was 14 years old when he decided he wanted to get his ear pierced. The decision had come along suddenly, it went from a thought that had never entered his brain to an all-encompassing one.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove & Maxine "Max" Mayfield
Series: Enemy You Can't Live Without [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1436554
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	At Least I'll Look Good While Having a Terrible Childhood

Billy was 14 years old when he decided he wanted to get his ear pierced. The decision had come along suddenly, it went from a thought that had never entered his brain to an all-encompassing one. It wasn’t his fault either. It’s not like he went out looking for fashion trends to piss off his father (this time). In fact, if anything this was his fathers’ fault. Billy had only been trying out for the Baseball team because his dad was convinced ‘real men’ were good at baseball. How was Billy to know that a senior (Matt, Billy later learned) would just strut into the dressing room wearing the most captivating dangly gold earring. It was hardly anything, just a chain that hung from his ear, but Billy was obsessed. He had gone home that night, and, in the bathroom, mirror had held up one of Susan’s diamond studs to his ear and decided that yes, a piercing would in fact make him look badass. 

Neil disagreed. 

What else is new? 

Billy shouldn’t have asked him. He should have just waited until he collected enough spare change from couch cushions and parking lots to get it done himself. The problem was Billy wasn’t always the smartest when it came to his dad. He assumed he was safe. Neil was in a good mood. Report cards had just come in and Billy had gotten straight A’s, Max had gotten straight C’s (“And a B in science!”) Billy had made the baseball team and Susan had just gotten her hair touched up. They were all looking like Neil’s picture-perfect family. Then Billy had to go and shatter that illusion by asking if he could get his ear pierced over dinner. 

The slaps came later after Max had gone to bed. When Neil could remind Billy of his place without scaring his precious baby girl. But the words… the words came as soon as Billy asked the question. Neil had calmly put his fork down, laced his fingers together, and asked Billy if he was some kind of fag. Billy hadn’t even had time to stutter a no before Neil was telling him that fags weren’t allowed under his roof. That if Billy kept up with this Neil would have no choice but to kick him out. Told him that growing out his hair was one thing, but now he wanted to add an earring on top of that? Well, Neil’s army buddies might just have to take a visit down and remind Billy what it meant to be a man. Billy was not exactly sure what that meant but he did not want to find out. The rest of dinner was eaten in silence, Billy keeping his eyes planted firmly on his plate, stinging from the force of his glare. He was not going to cry over a stupid ear piercing. 

The next day at school Billy tracked down Dan Murphy, the one kid in his grade that everyone had no doubt was queer as a three-dollar bill. He walked right up to him and punched him in the stomach. While poor skinny Dan was hunched over, clutching his gut, Billy had shoved him to the ground and told him to be a real man instead of a cocksucking pussy. Later when Billy had been called into the office, Neil and the principal joked that Billy had done the right thing. Said the only way to squash that out was to do it early. Dan’s dad did not make any comment and Billy felt sick to his stomach when he saw Dan shrink in on himself. They both got sent home and a week of detention. Billy for punching him, and Dan for provoking him. As they walked to the car, Neil patted Billy’s shoulder and told him he had done a good job.  
Max is the one who brings the piercing up again. During Neil and Susan’s carefully planned Saturday date night. Saturday because of course Neil wants to crush any chance Billy has at having a social life in lieu of babysitting perfect little Maxine. 

“You know, I know how to pierce your ear.” Max’s little prepubescent voice chirps during a commercial break. 

Billy looks down at her from the couch. She is laying on the floor doing a puzzle of some cabin in the woods. “What?”

“Piercing your ears.” She says rolling her eyes “It’s easy.” 

“What would you possibly know about piercing ears?” 

“Alice and Sally pierced their ears at Jessica’s sleepover last month.” 

“You mean the sleepover where you cried and made Susan go pick you up at 3 am?” 

“I didn’t cry.” Max pouted sitting up. 

“Whatever.” He said turning his attention back to the tv. “If Alice and Sally pierced their ears why didn’t you pierce yours?” He peeked over at her from the corner of his eye. She was red as a tomato with her cheeks puffed out. It was funny, had never seen someone's skin color match their hair. 

“Because I didn’t want to do it.” 

“You mean you chickened out?” 

“I did not chicken out!” 

Billy proceeded to make a series of chicken noises at her. Max threw a crayon at his head in response. 

“Do you want me to pierce your ear or not?” 

“Not.” 

Billy honestly thought that was going to be the end of it. He would forget about wanting a piercing eventually and everything would just be fine and normal. 

Of course, nothing in Billy’s life was fine and normal. People who were fine didn’t daydream about smashing everything around them to bits, or wish they could just stop existing. Normal people didn’t get hot by their fathers when their team lost the game. It hadn’t even been Billy’s fault, he had played as best as he could, the other team was just better. So, when Neil called Billy as pussy on the ride home he had, had enough. No matter what he did, or how well he did it Neil was always going to think of him as some worthless Pussy Fag Bitch. That night after Billy had spent far too long trying to scrub the sting of the slap off his face, he stared himself down in the mirror and made a decision. He was getting his ear pierced.  
After everyone had gone to bed, Billy snuck into Max’s room. He crept over to his bed and gently shook her shoulder. “Max.” She didn’t budge, so he tried again “Max wake up.” Still nothing. This time he tried flicking her nose. 

“Huh?” Max said hands flying up to rub where he had flicked her “Ow.” 

“Good, you’re up.” 

“Billy?” 

“Yeah, get up. You’re piercing my ear.” 

“What?” 

“You are going to pierce my ear.” 

Max rubbed her eyes looking over at her alarm clock. “It’s 11, can’t we do this in the morning?” 

“No.” 

She groaned “Why not?” 

“Because Neil is going to be awake in the morning.” 

“If we do it now, your ear will still be pierced in the morning genius.” 

“Don’t argue with me, Maxine.” 

“Get out of my room.” 

Billy moved to pull her out of bed by her ankles. 

“Billy!” She screamed only for Billy to clamp a hand over her mouth. 

“Shut up!” He hissed listening for any sound that Neil or Susan might have woken up. When a minute passed, and he heard nothing he slowly lifted his hand from over Max’s mouth. “Look just pierce my ear and I’ll let you go back to bed.”

Max glared at him. “Fine, let’s just get this over with.”  
It takes them 20 minutes to dig out a needle from the junk draw. After that max tells Billy to hold an ice cube to his ear as she cuts off a wedge of an apple. 

“Are you making a snack?” He said annoyed. 

“No,” Max rolled her eyes at him “You hold the needle against the back of your ear, so you don’t stab your neck or finger. He doesn’t think that sounds right but who is he to know. Apparently, girls did things like stab each other with needles during sleepovers. When she turns the stovetop on though Billy is certain Max is fucking with him.

“What are you doing now?” 

“Steri-“ She pauses, thinking “Cleaning the needle?” 

“Sterilizing?” 

“Yeah, that’s the word.” 

“Why?” He says watching her carefully hold the tip of the needle in a low blue flame. 

“So, you don’t get an infection.” 

“I don’t care about that. I’ll take my chances.”

Max makes a face but pulls the needle away and turns off the stove “Is your ear cold enough yet?” 

“I think so.” 

She nods and grabs the apple wedge before sanding in front of him. “Hold your hair back.” Billy listens watching as Max leans in close. He is pretty sure this is the closest Max has ever gotten to him and it makes him a little uncomfortable. He watches her tongue peek out a little in concentration and then suddenly there is a stabbing pain on his earlobe. 

“Ow, what the fuck Max.” He pulls away. 

“What are you doing?!” She whisper yelled at him.

“That hurt!” He whisper yelled right back. 

“Of course, it hurt I’m stabbing you!” 

“You said the ice would make it not hurt!” 

“I said it would make it hurt less!” 

“God, you’re such a bitch.” 

“I don’t have to be doing this you know!?” 

He huffed and moved back in place. “Just get it over with.” 

“Don’t move this time.” 

“Yeah, Yeah.”

Max pulled on his ear and started to poke the needle through his ear again. Billy was expecting the pain this time, so he was able to stay in place. When the needle was half was through his ear Max stopped looking around “Where is the earing?” 

He opened his hand out, holding out one of Susan’s studs that she left in the bathroom. Max raises her eyebrow at him but takes it and as the needle is pulled out the other end of his ear, she slides the earring in. This hurts too cause the earring is wider than the needle.

“There.” Max smiles admiring her handy work. 

“How does it look?” Billy asked.

“Pretty.” She hummed. 

He made a face. “I’m not pretty.” 

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. You look terrifying. Absolutely horrifying. Men quake in their boots when they see you.” 

“Thank you.” 

“I’m going to bed.” She says throwing the apple wedge into the garbage. 

Billy stands up “You do that.” He says not really caring, he walks past her down the hall to the bathroom, going straight to the mirror. He pushes some loose hair behind his ear and stares. A small amount of blood is started to pool at around the rim of the earring but Billy thinks that adds nicely to the effect. He loves it. Thinks he looks badass. 

He knows tomorrow his dad is going to bring a world of pain down on him. But for tonight Billy goes to bed with a smile on his face.


End file.
